Mailbird 2 Is Winding Down. Mailbird 3 Is Free for All Mailbird 2 Customers
Mailbird 2 is winding down. Updates stop at the end of 2026, but the app keeps working and your license does not expire — and every active Mailbird 2 customer gets a free upgrade to Mailbird 3.
Mailbird 2 is winding down. Updates stop at the end of 2026, but the app keeps working and your license does not expire — and every active Mailbird 2 customer gets a free upgrade to Mailbird 3.
Short version
- Mailbird 2 is winding down. Updates stop at the end of 2026, but the app keeps working and your license does not expire.
- Every active Mailbird 2 customer gets a free upgrade to Mailbird 3, the next available Windows version. There is no deadline.
- If you bought Mailbird before May 4, 2016, you are covered by the broader upgrade wording of that time and will also receive every future Mailbird upgrade at no extra cost, including Mailbird Next.
- If you bought a Pro Lifetime license between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019, Mailbird Next is included for you as well.
- If you bought any Mailbird 3 license on or after April 5, 2026, whether a fresh Pay Once purchase or a paid 2 to 3 upgrade, Mailbird Next is included.
- New standing policy: whenever we wind down a legacy Mailbird version, customers on it get a free upgrade to the next available one.
- When Mailbird 3 one day winds down, your move to Mailbird Next will be free.
A note from Michael
Hi everyone,
I’m Michael, co-founder and CEO of Mailbird.
This note took a while to write, because it concerns some of our earliest and most loyal customers: the people who bought Mailbird 2 and still use it every day.
Mailbird 2 has had a long life. Many of you bought it years ago, built your email routine around it, and stayed through a lot of change. Thank you for that: Mailbird would not be here today without your support.
When we moved from Mailbird 2 to Mailbird 3, our wording around “Pay Once,” “Lifetime,” and future major versions was not clear enough. Many of you understood your purchase to include every future major version of Mailbird. We meant something narrower: updates within Mailbird 2. That gap created frustration and, for some of you, a loss of trust.
We should have been more transparent from the start, and we should have fixed it long before you had to point it out. I’m sorry we didn’t.
We can’t give you back the moment you felt let down by a company you had chosen early and stayed with, but we can make the road ahead unambiguous and fair.
Mailbird 2 is winding down: all Mailbird 2 users get a free upgrade to Mailbird 3
Mailbird 2 is winding down but will keep working, and your license stays active.
At the end of 2026 we will stop shipping updates for Mailbird 2, including security fixes. That is why every active Mailbird 2 customer receives a free upgrade to Mailbird 3.
We recommend upgrading because Mailbird 3, being the next available Windows version, will keep receiving minor updates and fixes for now. There is no deadline on this: even if you only hear about this later, we will still honor the free Mailbird 2 to Mailbird 3 upgrade.
Free upgrade to Mailbird Next for eligible users
a) If you bought Mailbird before May 4, 2016 , all future Mailbird upgrades are included at no extra cost, the latest cross-platform Mailbird version (Mailbird Next) and the mobile apps among them.
Why that date? When we went back through older versions of our pricing page, we found that before May 4, 2016 the upgrade wording was broader and could reasonably be read as covering future major Mailbird versions in general. On May 4, 2016, it was narrowed to refer specifically to future updates of Mailbird 2. It’s fair to honor the broader reading for everyone who bought before that change.
This also applies if you bought before May 4, 2016 and have already paid to upgrade to Mailbird 3. We are not refunding past upgrades, since you have had Mailbird 3 for some time, but your license is included in this broader treatment from here on.
b) If you bought a Mailbird Pro Lifetime license between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019, Mailbird Next and the mobile apps are included for you too. During that window the license was sold under the name Lifetime, and our page did not make clear that this meant updates to Mailbird 2 only. You bought a license called Lifetime, so we are treating it as one.
c) If you bought a Mailbird 3 license on or after April 5, 2026 , the six months before the planned launch of Mailbird Next, Mailbird Next and the mobile apps are included. That covers a fresh Pay Once purchase and a paid Mailbird 2 to Mailbird 3 upgrade alike.
A policy for future wind-downs
We are also setting a rule for future wind-downs: when we wind down a legacy Mailbird product, customers on that product receive a free upgrade to the next available Mailbird version or product.
Paying for a newer version gives you earlier access to it. Waiting means you still get there, free, when the version you are on reaches the end of its run. We think that is a fair middle ground. Customers who fund development by upgrading early get the newest product sooner, and long-time customers are never stranded.
For Mailbird 2 customers, the next step is Mailbird 3. And when Mailbird 3 one day winds down, this same policy carries you to Mailbird Next, free.
About Mailbird Next
Mailbird Next is the new cross-platform Mailbird, for Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone, and the foundation for the next generation of private email productivity.
It is a separate product generation , four years in the making. Some of you already have it as part of what you hold today:
- Active Lifetime Updates holders
- Yearly subscribers
- Customers who bought Next during the beta
- Anyone who bought a Mailbird 3 license on or after April 5, 2026
- Anyone who bought Mailbird before May 4, 2016
- Anyone who bought a Pro Lifetime license between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019
For everyone else, Mailbird Next is launching soon, and the upgrade offer will follow with your instructions.
Why are we doing this, and why now
Keeping several old product generations alive indefinitely splits our attention across too many codebases, support paths, help articles, installers and security dependencies. That slows the work on Mailbird’s future.
More importantly, this is the right moment to close an old chapter properly.
Some of you have told us plainly over the years that you felt let down. We heard you, and we want to be more transparent and consistent than we were.
What happens next
- Active Mailbird 2 customers will receive instructions for claiming the free Mailbird 3 upgrade in the coming weeks.
- Customers who bought Mailbird before May 4, 2016 receive all future Mailbird upgrades at no extra cost, Mailbird Next and the mobile apps included.
- Customers who bought a Mailbird Pro Lifetime license between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019 have Mailbird Next and the mobile apps included.
- Customers who bought a Mailbird 3 license on or after April 5, 2026, upgrade or fresh purchase, have Mailbird Next and the mobile apps included.
- Everyone in the three groups above will receive details to claim it in the coming weeks.
- Mailbird 2 keeps working, but updates, security fixes included, end at the end of 2026.
- Mailbird 3 is the path for customers who want to stay on the classic Windows-only product for now. It receives minor updates only.
- Mailbird Next launches soon for anyone who wants the newest Mailbird, with Android and iPhone apps to follow.
- Future wind-downs of legacy products will include a free upgrade to the next available Mailbird version or product.
Thank you again to everyone who has been with Mailbird since the early days. We are still here because of you, and we intend to keep earning your trust!
Frequently Asked Questions
I bought Mailbird 2. Do I get Mailbird 3 for free?
Yes. Every active Mailbird 2 customer receives a free upgrade to Mailbird 3. We’ll send you the details to claim it shortly; no need to do anything at this stage.
Is Mailbird 2 being shut off?
No. Your license does not disappear, and the app keeps working. But updates end at the end of 2026, security fixes included, so we recommend moving to Mailbird 3.
Do I have to claim the free 3 upgrade right away?
No. There is no deadline: the free upgrade stays available indefinitely.
Do I get Mailbird Next for free?
Some customers already have it: active Lifetime Updates holders, yearly subscribers, customers who bought Next during the beta, anyone who bought a Mailbird 3 license on or after April 5, 2026, customers who bought a Pro Lifetime license between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019, and customers who bought Mailbird before May 4, 2016. Everyone else can upgrade to Mailbird Next as soon as it launches, or receive it free later, when the version they are on winds down.
I bought or upgraded recently. Is Next included?
If you bought a Mailbird 3 license on or after April 5, 2026, whether a fresh Pay Once purchase or a paid 2 to 3 upgrade, Mailbird Next is included. We’ll send you the details to claim it shortly; no need to do anything at this stage.
Why does the May 4, 2016 date matter?
Before May 4, 2016, our pricing page used broader update wording that could reasonably be read as covering future major Mailbird versions, not just minor updates. On May 4, 2016, the wording was narrowed to refer specifically to future updates of Mailbird 2. Also, between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019 the Pro license was sold as Lifetime without that clarification, so those customers have Mailbird Next included as well. Later versions of the page did not spell out what future updates meant. We are honoring the broader reading for customers who bought before the clarification. If your purchase confirmation or invoice describes your license as Lifetime or mentions future upgrades, contact our support team and we will review it.
I bought a Pro Lifetime license in 2018 or 2019. Where do I stand?
If you bought it between March 14, 2018 and June 19, 2019, Mailbird Next is included for you. We’ll send you the details to claim it shortly; no need to do anything at this stage.
What if I think I should be included, but I’m not?
Please contact our support team with your invoice or purchase confirmation. If it clearly shows that your purchase included future upgrades and our records missed it, we will review it and include you individually.
Why not give everyone Mailbird Next right now?
Because customers who upgraded or purchased Mailbird earlier helped fund newer Mailbird versions and got access sooner. The rule is simple: paying gives earlier access; when a legacy product winds down, customers on it receive a free upgrade to the next available version or product.
Will Mailbird 3 wind down too?
Yes, eventually. When it happens, the same policy applies: customers on Mailbird 3 at that time receive a free upgrade to Mailbird Next.
